Episode 7: Their Estrangement

The story begins with a lot of reading that summarizes what has happened in the previous episodes.

It is now the end of the semester and everyone is ready to head off to summer vacation.

Introduction

At the Miyazawa house, both of Yukino's younger siblings are overjoyed that they can finally go out with their older sister. They go and visit Arima because his backyard is a lot bigger. Then, Asaba appears and surprises Yukino. Asaba tells Yukino that he and Arima slept together last night. Asaba is then relegated to playing with the kids. As the kids are playing, they both reveal that they didn't think they did so well on their finals. They conclude that it's because they were having too much fun with each other. However, Yukino feels that what they're doing is much more important than studying.

However, when they check their scores, it turns out that Arima got 3rd but Yukino got 13th place. Arima says they should try harder next time, but Yukino is suspicious. She thinks Arima has tricked her by taking up her time and then secretly studying to beat her. Right then, both of them get called to the principals office. The principal says that he's noticed their grade slip and wants to confirm the rumor that they're going out. He says that they have a promising future and that they should put it in jeopardy. In short, he wants them to break up.

Yukino then reminisces about her past as an excellent and much admired student. However, she also remembers that she was a cunning child who would stay up until 1am to practice the recorder to be number 1, even if she was coughing up blood. Love and friendship were second rate to her. However, she then met Arima. Now she tries to defend their relationship in front of the principal. She tells her that there are no second chances in life and she'll look back on this as a wise choice. She continues to tell the principal that it was her previous self that was wrong.

The other teachers don't like her arguing back and tell her to apologize. Arima defends his girlfriend and they leave. Arima tells her that because they're changing their personalities, they're bound to get some resistance. At home, Yukino's mom tells her that she got a call from the school.

Intermission

Yukino meets Arima at school the next day. She thinks it's her talking back to the teachers that got them in trouble. Arima then asks if her parents scolded her. In fact, they did the opposite. Because Yukino's parents married young, they understand what it means to be in love and are going to meet with the principal and tell him that they approve of the relationship. She knows that her parents coming to school are going to be trouble for her. Back at school, Arima tells her that he was glad that Yukino defied the teachers and embraces her. They both vow that they won't let this stop them.

The Yukino's parents and Arima's parents finally meet at school. They go in the principal's office where he tells them that their children have erred in judgment and that their relationship would only interfere with their academics. However, Yukino's dad tells the principal that he and her mother are already really proud of her and that she knows what's best for her. To him, a day in high school is worth more than a month as an adult. Arima's parents also agree with that reasoning.

After the meeting, the parents go out for some tea. When the principal comes out of his office, Yukino and Arima both apologize for being rude and promise to study more. The principal tells them to do what they think best and admires them for having a strong will.